Father of Yours
by Duchess Michelle
Summary: Part II of my Father of Mine series. Buffy and Spike are living together in LA. Spike is touring a lot and all his time away is taking a toll on their relationship. Can they make it work? Or will it fall apart? Surprises in store for all!
1. Chapter 1

Father of Yours

Part 2: Making Plans

Summary: Spike is away on a 3 week tour. The band is promoting their new album that will be out just before Christmas. He left a week after his birthday and will be back a couple days before Thanksgiving. Buffy misses him a lot, but they talk on the phone every day. Will misses him too. After Thanksgiving he's leaving again for another 4 week tour and Buffy doesn't want him to go. She knows that he has to, but she feels that she's losing him. They've already been arguing on the phone some because while they've been talking every day while he's on tour the phone calls are short. They fight again while he's home for Thanksgiving.

Song Pairing – _Battlefield_, Jordin Sparks

**Chapter 1 – Battlefield of Love**

_2 days before Thanksgiving_

William, aka Spike, came home late Tuesday night. Everyone was already in bed. The house was dark and silent and he was exhausted. He dropped his stuff off in the living room and quietly tip toed up the stairs to his bedroom. As quietly as he could, he opened the bedroom door and stepped inside. She was asleep. She looked so peaceful. He shut the door behind him and undressed, still making sure to be as silent as possible. He didn't want to wake her. It had been 3 weeks since he'd laid eyes on his beautiful golden goddess and still he didn't want to wake her. Would she want to be woken?

Instead of pondering the question longer he slipped into their bed, fully unclothed. He didn't pull her to him. He opted for staying a couple feet away from her in the bed and gently brushing some hair out of her face. The moon let a little light into the room tonight and it made her look more angelic than he could ever remember. He had really missed her. He wanted to hold her close, breathe in her scent, kiss her breathless, ravish her until they were both sated, but he didn't. He was walking a fine line though as he caressed her cheek. She stirred and he pulled back a little.

A moment later she stilled again. She was gorgeous, the love of his life, but he didn't want to wake her. Instead of pulling her to him and taking that risk, he turned over on his side of the bed and quickly fell into a deep sleep. He was truly exhausted from the tour and part of him was grateful to be getting sleep right now. That didn't stop him from missing her though. Three weeks without her had nearly killed him. He didn't think he'd be able to bear it at the start, but somehow he'd managed to do just that.

Morning came and Buffy slowly opened her eyes and looked straight at the man sleeping a few feet from her. It took her all of 3 seconds to realize he was really home. When had he come home? Why didn't he wake her? These questions ran through her mind as she stared at him. He was within reach if she wanted to touch him, but her mind was too busy going over why he was sleeping on the other side of the bed. He never did that. He always held her. They slept together and for the first time since they'd started sharing their bed just a few short months ago, Buffy felt like Spike was putting distance between them.

It confused her and it scared her. She'd come so far in putting her trust in him, but it had wavered over the last few weeks. Easy was the last word she would use to describe the last 3 weeks without William. That brought her back to why he had chosen to sleep on the opposite side of the bed from her and not wake her up when he got home. Was something wrong? Did he not want to hold her when he came home? Did he stop loving her? And then, was he going to leave her?

Spike leaving her was the one thing she feared more than anything else. Her father had left her and her mom and sister without so much as a backward glance. Buffy wondered if Spike was capable of doing something like that, but every so often her fears got the best of her. It didn't happen often with how well things had been going, but since he'd been gone her fears were certainly more prevalent in her mind if not his. Now that he was back she thought things would get back on the right track, but apparently things weren't going to go back.

His body moved slightly and she pushed her thoughts out of her mind and put a smile on her face. She instantly moved herself closer to him, as close as she could get. Pressing her face to his chest and holding him in her arms, she took in his strong muscles, his firm chest, his warmth and comfort. In his arms she felt safe and loved. Even his scent drew her in and calmed her. There wasn't a thing about him that she didn't love.

For a moment she just held onto him. He was finally home after 3 _long_ weeks. Even the 5 years she had lived without didn't feel as long as the last few weeks. Maybe that was because she finally knew what it felt like to be with him. The last few months of their life together had been almost perfect. The 3 weeks without him had been hard though. She had missed him. She hated sleeping alone and not being able to kiss him. They had even argued on the phone, more than she liked to admit.

None of that mattered now though because he was here. She began peppering his chest with kisses and then she murmured, "I missed you." She knew he was awake now, even before he spoke.

"I missed you too," he said back, caressing her cheek to get her to look at him. When she met his gaze he smiled down at her. God! She was so beautiful! "I love you, Buffy."

"I love you too, William." She pulled herself up so her face was just inches from his. Moving her hand over his face, caressing and rememorizing his features, she looked into those blue eyes that took her breath away. Then she pressed her lips to his ever so softly, only pulling back to whisper, "Welcome home, baby."

"And what a woman to come home to," he whispered against her neck. "I missed you so much," he said again, still holding her close and not looking at her.

"I missed you too," she said, for the second time, resting her head on his chest. Her fingers began slowly tracing imaginary patterns along his shoulder.

"Is everything ok, pet?" he asked, growing concerned from the way she was absent mindedly drawing on his skin.

"Yep," she said cheerfully. She looked at him then and added, "You're home and tomorrow is Thanksgiving. Everything's perfect." Buffy leaned in and kissed him again, quickly turning the kiss passionate. Her tongue came out to play, enticing him to join in on the fun.

He could never resist her, not even if he tried. William let his tongue wander into her mouth as he wrapped his arms around her waist. The longer the kiss lasted the more turned on he got. His excitement was obviously growing and he was sure Buffy could tell since she was now on top of him.

She pushed her body as close to his as she could get it. She ran her hands over his chest, loving the feel of his rippled muscles beneath her fingertips. "Mmmm," she moaned against his lips.

He grabbed her ass in his hands, grinding his erection against her core. The heat was almost unbearable. All he wanted was more. More of her. More touching. More everything.

He slid his hands inside her panties and squeezed her ass firmly. When she moaned into his mouth he quickly moved one hand under her tank top. Then he lifted the shirt over her head and tossed it to the floor. His hands quickly moved back to her ass to start taking her panties off.

She used her hand to get them off part of the way and wiggled them the rest of the way down her legs. Then she smiled as she sat up and straddled him again, knowing that he was already naked. Taking him in her hand, she positioned him and lowered herself until he was fully inside of her.

Buffy moaned in pleasure just as she heard a groan from William. It felt so good to have him inside of her again. She started rising and falling on his dick as his hands held her hips, helping to steady her movements.

They started off slow, enjoying every fraction of a second, every sound, and every motion. It couldn't stay that way though. Things were bound to escalate. The first sign to William that it was changing was the contracting of her inner muscles around his shaft. He moaned again and caught her eyes and he knew that she was close. There was also a glint that told him she was trying to push him to his limit. He wasn't sure how much longer he could hold out though. To bring her closer he slid his hand up her thigh, caressed her abdomen, and finally rested it on her mound. He easily found her clit and rubbed it thoroughly. He massaged it relentlessly until she was writhing above him, panting his name and pulling him over the edge with her. His seed spilled inside her and she slowly came down from her high, falling against his chest in a satisfied heap of limp muscles.

He smiled at her and turned them over on their sides, so that he could lean over her a little and get a better look at his gorgeous goddess. "I love you, Buffy," he whispered before he kissed her softly.

The kiss was languid, giving Buffy ample time to get into it. She wrapped her arms around his neck and held him to her firmly. She almost loved kissing him more than making love to him. Kissing was so intimate, but then so was their love making. She never felt nearer to him than when they were intimately linked. Allowing herself to fall into the kiss a little more she began running her fingers over the smooth muscles of his back. Her tongue was being playful as it tried to evade his, darting back into her mouth.

She finally giggled amidst her teasing. Then she felt him rub himself against her and she gasped. She met his eyes and saw the mixture of love and lust there. Could he really be ready for another round? The hardness pressed between her thighs told her he could. Raising her hips to tell him she was ready, she smiled at him and kissed him chastely. "Make love to me, William."

When she opened her legs for him he slid inside, burying himself in her warmth. He pressed soft kisses to her neck as they both adjusted again. She always felt tight to him and it took some self control not to come right then. The little noises she made didn't help any either, but he loved every sound she made. He kissed her softly on the lips and began to move inside of her.

This time he went slowly. His thrusts were carefully calculated so that his pelvic bone rubbed her clit just right on each stroke. The way she moved her hips to meet him thrust for thrust was bringing him so close to his boiling point. He was almost there, but he wanted to hold off. He wanted this moment to last.

The gasps and soft moans she was eliciting were driving him crazy. She drove him crazy with everything she did. He loved her more than he could have ever imagined and when he was away from her he felt much more alone than he liked. He liked the way he felt when he was with her and the man she made him. It was like just being in her presence made him step up his game.

It seemed that they would never get enough of each other. Buffy missed William just as much as he missed her while he was away with the band. She didn't know how she put up with it, but having him home made her realize how good they were together. She began clenching her muscles around him again as her second orgasm of the morning hit her. He had her so occupied she didn't even know what time it was. All that she knew was that she was about to have another orgasm.

One tapered off only to lead into the next. Buffy gasped and whispered "William" as her next orgasm overtook her senses. He captured her moan in his mouth and made his thrusts a little harder. "William," she gasped again as he hit the spot with his last thrust. Her mouth formed that perfect 'O' and he spilled himself inside of her again.

She came down from her high and felt him pull out of her. Despite the loss of contact she was completely happy. She moved her head to rest on his chest and listened to his racing heart. It slowly began to return to its normal rhythm and she smiled as she looked up at him and saw that he was drifting off to dreamland again. "My William is so tired," she murmured, grazing his cheek with the backs of her fingers briefly.

Buffy quietly climbed out of bed and glanced at the clock to see that it was only 8 o'clock. Knowing that Dawn would still be asleep for at least another hour she put a robe on and went to check on Will. When she peered inside his room she saw that he was still sound asleep too. Since he'd probably be up soon she decided to take a quick shower to clean up.

A few hours later William woke up, stretching his body to discover that he was alone in bed. He looked over to Buffy's side of the bed to confirm it. When he listened carefully he could hear voices downstairs. He climbed out of bed and decided to take a quick shower before going down.

As he came back into the bedroom a few minutes later, he glanced at the clock and noted that it was 10:30 already. He realized that he'd gotten quite a bit of sleep in despite the early morning romp he'd had with Buffy. A smile brightened his features as the image of her in bed crossed his mind. He quickly dressed himself in a white tee shirt and blue jeans before descending the stairs with that same bright smile still plastered on his face.

The moment his eyes met Buffy's he saw her smile too. Will and Dawn were already up as well and watching cartoons. It was only Wednesday, but he could tell that Buffy was already making preparations for tomorrow's dinner. He wasn't sure exactly why, but he felt nervous about it. Thanksgiving wasn't something he normally celebrated and he just hoped he didn't screw something up. He definitely didn't want to be the one to ruin Buffy's Thanksgiving.

Wednesday went by rather quickly. Buffy stayed in the kitchen working on a few of the more labor intensive dishes. William spent time with little Will and Dawn. They watched TV and played games. He even took them out to the park and got them ice cream. All in all they had a wonderful day and when they came home Dawn convinced Buffy to order take out and watch a movie with them. Of course she had to promise to help Buffy in the kitchen tomorrow though.

_Thanksgiving Day_

Buffy slaved the day away in the kitchen, working hard to make a memorable Thanksgiving dinner because it was their first as a family. She also wanted it to be good because William would be going away again on Friday, just one more day. They only had today and she wanted to make it the best day possible.

It was a lot to hope for considering that perfection is something that is quite unattainable. Buffy didn't really think about that though. She just wanted this day to be perfect. The last thing she realized was that any day spent with her and the kids was perfect for William and that he didn't need a big, fancy Thanksgiving. He was from Britain for heaven's sake, so Thanksgiving was probably the last holiday he had ever celebrated.

After a long day in the kitchen with some help from Dawn dinner was finally ready. Buffy served it to a hungry family and was happy with the final result. Everyone was happy and dinner was as close to perfection as you could get. Surprisingly not a thing went wrong with Thanksgiving dinner. Once dinner was done though was a completely different matter.


	2. Chapter 2

Father of Yours

Summary: Buffy and Spike have a big fight and he leaves for the 4 week tour. He won't be home again until December 23rd, just before Christmas. He does Christmas shopping while he's gone on tour. He and Buffy even talk later that night and say sorry, but she's still mad and hurt and misses him. It's hard for her when he's not around after having gotten used to having him around, but she's tough and independent.

**Chapter 2 - Black Friday**

_Friday morning_

Buffy woke up in the arms of the man she loved. She wouldn't have had it any other way either. If she could have her way she would wake up in his arms every day for the rest of her life, but she didn't get her way. And the more she woke up this morning the more she realized that she'd be spending the next 4 weeks without him again. She hated that fact.

It was the way things were for now, but that didn't mean she had to like it. In fact she really, really disliked it. All she wanted was for William to stay with her. He'd barely just gotten home and he had to leave again. It was hard on her and it was hard on the kids.

Her back was pressed to his chest and his arms were wrapped possessively around her waist. She brought one of his hands up to kiss it and she smiled against his warm flesh. "I love you," she whispered. "And I don't want you to go," she admitted softly, believing that he was still asleep.

To her surprise he held her tighter and kissed her shoulder and neck. "I love you too, Buffy." He was quiet for a few seconds before responding to the latter part of her comment just a moment ago. "You know I have to go though." She was quiet and he sighed softly. "I just want to provide for you and Dawn and Will. I just want you to be happy."

"I'm happy when you're here," she said softly.

"I know baby, but I'll be back soon. It'll hardly feel like I'm gone at all."

"You know that's not true. I miss you every second that you're gone. It drives me crazy William and I can hardly stand it." Her tone was changing to something a little bit more angry and desperate toward the end.

He caressed her back lovingly. "It's only 4 weeks Buffy." He was trying to get her to see that it wasn't that bad, but it wasn't working. She didn't want to see things his way.

"Only?" she scoffed. "You can't mean that!" She abruptly turned in his arms so that she could look at him. "Is it only 4 weeks to you? Do you not go crazy every time you walk out that door? Because I do. Every time you leave me I'm afraid you're not coming back. I'm afraid that something between us will change, that we won't love each other the same way that we do now… that…"

"Buffy, baby, I'll be back soon. I'll call you and write to you. You know that I always do that. You won't be alone." He moved his hand to caress her cheek, but was surprised when she withdrew from his touch.

"Don't," she whispered pitifully. "I love you too much to continue with the goodbyes. Last night was perfect but now… now I have to say goodbye to you all over again. You're barely home and then you're gone again. Maybe Will and Dawn don't notice… or at least Will, but I do notice. I notice it all. That you're gone, that the phone calls aren't enough, and that the road separates us for months on end."

"I love you. You know that, Buffy." He was really trying here. He knew it was hard to be apart from each other. Christ! It was hard for him too. He wanted to stay with her.

When she looked up at him now there were tears in her eyes and it broke his heart. She knew that he loved her. She could see it plain as day in the way he looked at her. It wasn't something he really had to try to convince her. That didn't change her fears though. She was still afraid that he would leave her. Love didn't stop someone from leaving.

"Oh, baby," he murmured soothingly, pulling her close to him. "I'm coming back. You have to know that." He brought her face up so he could look into her eyes. "I'm coming back to you, Buffy. I promise," he said seriously.

He held her for a while, rubbing her back soothingly. He didn't know what else to do. There wasn't much he could say. In his mind all he could do was prove her wrong. He had to sort through a few things in his mind too. They didn't have much time left today though. He'd have to leave soon, and as he glanced over her shoulder at the clock on the bedside table he realized just how little time he had left with her.

"Buffy, I need to get ready to go," he whispered softly. "I don't want to go, pet, but you know I have to…" He kissed the top of her head before leaning down to kiss her on the lips. For a brief moment he deepened the kiss, but Buffy quickly broke it and climbed out of bed to run into the bathroom.

William sighed and ran his hands over his face. There was a tightening in his chest. The last thing he ever wanted to do was hurt Buffy, but that seemed to be what he was doing. Instead of moping in bed he quietly climbed out of bed and started to get dressed. He'd already packed a few bags for the tour yesterday. After tossing a few more things into his bags he was ready to leave. He didn't want to leave without saying goodbye to Buffy though, so he stood at the bathroom door and knocked softly.

"Love, come out, please," he nearly begged.

"I can't say goodbye to you," she sniffled. It was true. She couldn't say it to him. It was breaking her heart just to know that he was leaving because it felt like he might not come back.

"Ok," he replied. "I… I guess I'll see you in a few weeks then and I'll call you later." He really didn't want to leave things this way with her, but he didn't have much of a choice at the moment. "I love you," he said again, running his hand over the door one last time before turning and leaving.

He grabbed his bags and walked to the front door. He had just one more thing to do before he left. There was another goodbye that wasn't going to be much easier than the first. William ascended the stairs and knocked on Will's door before entering.

"Hey buddy," he spoke softly. He couldn't imagine how hard it was for his little boy not having him around, especially when he'd been absent so much of his life already. How could he keep leaving them?

Will turned and looked at his dad with a smile. He was still young enough that he didn't understand everything that went on around him. He was smart for a 5 year old and he knew that it had been just him and his mom for a long time. For a child he was precocious and he knew that his dad came and went a lot, but to him it mattered more to him that his dad was around.

"Hi Dad," Will said cheerfully. "Did you come to say goodbye?" he asked. He might not understand everything at 5, but he was aware that his dad was going away again.

"Yeah, Will, I have to go again." He ran his hand through Will's hair briefly before saying, "I'm going to miss you pal."

"I'm going to miss you too Dad," Will said, turning around and wrapping his little arms around his dad's neck.

William hugged his son tightly for a long moment. He kissed him on the cheek and then said, "It's time for me to go Will."

Will was tough. He wasn't going to cry. "Ok Dad."

"I'll see you soon though, ok?" William asked, pulling away from Will and looking him in the face.

Will nodded and waved as his dad left his room.

Next William knocked on Dawn's door and came in when he heard the quiet "Come in."

He smiled softly at the girl he'd always thought of as a little sister. "Can you do a favor for me Dawnie?"

"Depends what it is," Dawn said with a smirk. She knew what he would ask. He'd want her to take care of Buffy while he was away.

He smiled again, knowing that she was teasing him. "I want you to look out for Buffy while I'm gone. I know it's hard on her that I'm gone for so long, but I know you can help her a little." There really wasn't anything else he could say, so he walked over and kissed Dawn on the forehead before saying, "See you later nibblet."

It didn't take long for Buffy to come out of the bathroom. Once she heard the front door open and close she came out from hiding. She wiped her tears away and stared at the bedroom that she'd shared with William for the past couple of days. It was their room, but she had it all to herself for too much of the time these days.

Instead of moping around the house though, she decidedly got dressed and went downstairs to fix something for the kids to eat before taking them Christmas shopping. There would be tons of deals today and it would take her mind off of William, at least for a little while.


	3. Chapter 3

Father of Yours

Summary: Spike is home for Christmas. He and Buffy argue again. Dawn notices the tension, but Will seems oblivious until he asks Spike "Are you mad at Mama?" Its right then that Spike realizes that fighting with Buffy is not only hurting him, but it's hurting their family. He decides to stay home until the end of January to be with the family, to put things back on track with Buffy.

Song Pairing – _Whatever It Takes_, Lifehouse

**Chapter 3 - Santa Baby!**

_December 23, 2006_

It was pretty early in the morning when William got home from his most recent mini tour. He'd been gone for 4 weeks and he was finally standing outside his home. It was the only place he wanted to be right now. It was the one place he'd longed to be for the last 4 weeks. Ever since he'd left after Thanksgiving things had been strained between him and Buffy. He was determined to make them better now. He just hoped that he could do that.

Opening the door quietly, he stepped inside and put his bags down to close the door behind him. He looked around. Everything was just how he left it except for the Christmas decorations. He'd never seen those up in his house before either. All the Christmas's he'd spent in LA by himself weren't really celebrated. He'd called his dad and said 'Merry Christmas,' but there were never decorations or a tree.

He slowly walked over to the tree and looked at it. It wasn't lit up at the moment, but it still looked beautiful and it made his heart ache to think he'd missed decorating it with his family. He'd never felt that way before, but then, he knew everything had changed when Buffy came into his life.

William didn't stand there long. After a few minutes he went back to his bags, picked them up, and carried them upstairs to his bedroom. He opened the door as quietly as possible and set his bags down by the closet. Glancing at Buffy it seemed like she was still sound asleep. He quickly stripped out of his clothes and climbed into bed with her. This time he snuggled close to her and wrapped an arm around her waist, successfully pulling her flush against his body. She moaned in her sleep and he smiled. He gently pressed a kiss to her shoulder blade and drifted off into dreamland to hopefully meet her.

A few hours later Buffy woke up to the sensation of a warm body pressed against hers. It was a welcome feeling. She'd missed it for so long and she knew what it meant. William was home!

She was so happy that she didn't care about waking him up. She turned in his arms and kissed him fiercely. It didn't take long to wake him up either. It took even less time to awaken his desires. Even before she felt his tongue stirring in her mouth she felt something else entirely stirring against her abdomen.

"I missed you," she murmured against his lips once they'd broken for air.

"I missed you too, pet," he told her in return. "So much," he admitted, kissing her again.

Her arms wrapped around his neck and held him to her firmly. As she continued to kiss him hungrily she felt his hands roaming over her body. She loved every second of it. Everywhere his hands went the fire spread. There were tingles running over every part of her skin. Then she gasped when she felt a hand touch her wet folds. He just smiled against her lips and moved to kiss down her neck.

"Do you want me?" he whispered huskily as he slid one finger inside and rubbed her clit with his palm at the same time.

"Mmmm…" she mumbled.

"What's that pet? I didn't catch that."

"Ahhh…" she moaned as he rubbed her clit harder. "Yyy… yes," she finally managed to get out.

He quickly maneuvered himself on top of her and slid inside her slick heat. "You're so bloody tight. I don't know how you always feel so tight."

"I'm all yours, baby." Her muscles contracted around him briefly as he began thrusting into her. His breath quickened as she started moaning from his movements. The feelings he elicited in her never ceased to surprise her. They were always a bit overwhelming but unbelievably good at the same time. Ever second he was inside of her she was reaching for heaven, tasting and touching a part of it when he brought her to her crest of pleasure. "Don't stop," she gasped, pressing her breasts against his chest, her nipples rubbing against his heated flesh.

"I'll never stop, _never_." He continued plunging inside her, bringing them both closer to the big finale. His whole body was on edge, feeling his climax coming closer and closer as her muscles kept rippling around his shaft. Soon he was pushing harder, knowing that they were both so close to coming undone. "I love you," he said once more, and then with a few more thrusts they both came together.

As they came down from their high William pulled out of her and pulled her against his chest. She listened to his heartbeat return to normal as she did so many times after they made love. "I love that sound," she whispered. He just hugged her to him, both ecstatic that they were together again. "It's been too long since I've heard that sound."

He rubbed her back as he replied, "I know. I really missed you too, more than you'll ever know." With that they both lay there in silence, basking in the afterglow of their lovemaking. Four long weeks without each other and they were finally together again and feeling happy, complete. Being with one another was what made them feel whole. Nothing else did that for either of them, other than being with their family. Still, when William wasn't around Buffy didn't feel the same even if she was with Dawn and Will. She put on a brave face for her son, but Dawn saw through her. Dawn knew her too well for the brave face to work. Will was still so young that he didn't know that his mother was just trying to keep him from worrying. Could she and William work through all of his absences from their lives? Or would their relationship begin to deteriorate like her parents' did?

Buffy's mind was racing, but her heart was surprisingly calm. She was idly tracing shapes on William's chest, unsure of how long they'd been laying in bed now. It was the middle of the night though. The sun hadn't even risen which meant that Buffy should be going back to sleep. Briefly she glanced up and saw that William had fallen asleep again. She had to smile at the look on his face. There was pure happiness written into the soft lines of his features. She made him happy and he made her happy, most of the time. It was only when he left her that her fears took hold of her. She was terrified William would find someone or something better, that he would suddenly realize he didn't want her in his home anymore, that he wouldn't want their family anymore. That terror made her angry with him sometimes.

Before he came home they'd been arguing a lot on the phone. Buffy was always upset that he was missing things in her and the kids' lives and that she didn't get to spend enough time with him. It was part of the rock star gig. She knew that and she knew that's what she had signed up for. Maybe that was just the way things were going to be and she'd have to find a way to deal with it, but a part of her just kept pushing her to confront him. Right now waking him up to talk about this was the last thing she wanted to do. No, she'd let him sleep and talk to him when they had some time later. Closing her eyes she soon drifted to sleep too, dreaming of William.

When she woke up a little while later she looked at the clock. It was only 11:00. She turned over in bed and saw that William wasn't there with her any longer, but when she listened closer she heard the shower running. So that's where he was. A small smile graced her lips as she stretched. Finally she climbed out of bed and slipped into the bathroom as quietly as she could. Tip toeing to the shower she silently pulled the curtain aside and stepped in with William. Standing behind him she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him from behind, pressing her breasts against his back.

He slowly turned around, wrapping his arms around her body and leaning down to kiss her softly. His hands roamed over her body as he deepened the kiss, holding her to him as his tongue infiltrated the cave of her mouth. Before long they were both moaning and pressing their bodies together even more firmly, trying to get more contact. He pressed her against the tile and picked her up. She immediately wrapped her legs around his waist and he inserted his engorged member inside her wet center.

"So wet…"

"Only for you."

They moaned and gasped in unison, quickly bringing each other to their climaxes. Moments later they were washing off their lover's body under the luke warm water. When the water ran cold they stepped out of the shower, wrapping up in big fluffy towels. Smiling at one another they went back into the bedroom, searching for clothes. While Buffy was pulling out a pair of jeans and a shirt from her dresser she glanced at William. She was wondering how long he'd be home this time. Was it just for Christmas? A week? Two weeks?

Part of her didn't want to know because she didn't want to argue or think about him leaving again. Right now she felt happy. They'd just made love again and the air wasn't tense. She didn't want to screw that up, but she felt that she needed to know how long they had this time. "William…" she started slowly. He turned to look at her, remaining silent as he waited for her to continue. He could tell that she wanted to say something and he was beginning to feel anxious. The last thing he wanted was to get in another fight with her. "How long are you home this time?"

He sighed, fearing the beginning of a fight. "I don't know."

She rolled her eyes childishly. "How do you _not_ know?"

"We were talking about doing some shows in the southwest, but we haven't set the dates yet." He pulled on a pair of black jeans and then one of his classic white tee shirts. "It's Christmas Buffy. I don't want to fight."

"Neither do I, but I want you to stay home too."

"I know you do and I want to be here, but you know I have to work. Its how I support us and I want you and the kids to have everything you want."

"All I want is you," she said, pulling on a shirt over her bra and then buttoning up her jeans.

"Buffy…" He stepped closer to her, reaching for her hand. She pulled away from him though and it hurt him to see her do that. "Buffy… I love you."

"I know you do and I love you, but maybe that's not enough for you to stick around, huh?"

"How can you say that? How can you even _think_ that?"

"Because you're always running off to play your concerts and when you do come home you're barely here. We have a few days and then you're gone again. I can't keep doing this," she said, exasperated.

"You can't mean that…" he began, his face falling at the implications of her words.

She heard the kids moving around and moved for the door, but his hand grabbed her arm. "Buffy, wait. Please," he was begging her.

"I need to go fix breakfast… or at least lunch." She tried to pull away but he held firm.

"Buffy," he said again, his voice a little more firm.

"Let go," she insisted again.

He let her go then and she walked out of their room, walking downstairs to start making some food. Dawn was with Will on the couch, watching Home Alone. Will loved that movie. He watched it every year, usually with Buffy. It was nice to see him enjoying himself though. Buffy was glad he hadn't heard her arguing with William upstairs. Sure she and William were having problems, but Will didn't need to know about it unless they were breaking up and Buffy didn't want that. She had practically said that though. Inside her heart was already breaking. She loved William _so_ much, but she was afraid of him leaving. Maybe that was why she had jumped the gun and told him she couldn't do it anymore. If she ended it then he wouldn't be leaving her. That wouldn't stop the hurt though.

While Buffy was thinking about this downstairs William was upstairs in their room, sitting on their bed with his head in his hands. Was this the end of him and Buffy? He could feel his heart clenching. He couldn't let her go. Staying away from her so much of the time was killing him, but he did it because he wanted to give Buffy, Will, and Dawn a better life. He wanted them to have everything they wanted, but Buffy was right. All he wanted was her to be happy and she was happier when he was home with her.

Picking up his cell phone, he quickly dialed a phone number. A moment later Oz picked up on the other end. "Oz, let's put off those southwest concerts until February."

"Sure thing man," Oz replied.

"Yeah, I just need to stay home and spend some time with Buffy and the kids, get things back on the right track." William sighed.

"That's cool. Tell Buffy I said hi."

"Will do."

"Do you want to do some local shows while you're home? Or just take a few weeks off?"

"Maybe a few shows after New Year's, but for now let's just take a couple weeks. The fans will still be there, right?"

"Yeah," he chuckled. "They're not going anywhere."

"Thanks Oz. Can you let the others know?"

"No problem."

"Thanks again. Maybe we can meet up for lunch after Christmas."

"Sounds good. I'll see when everyone's free."

"Good, good. I'll talk to you soon."

"Bye."

The line was disconnected and William closed his cell phone, placing it on the nightstand. He didn't want any interruptions from the time with his family today. He'd have to find some time later to tell Buffy that he'd be staying home for a while. Hopefully some time at home would save their relationship. Things were usually good while he was home, at least until he had to go again and they argued _again_. Today was different, today had started off good and then something changed. It was always about the touring though, about the time he spent away from home.

The day went on seamlessly well. Buffy and William played nice in front of the kids and even felt like they had made up although they hadn't had a chance to talk privately yet. They had an unspoken agreement to never argue in front of the kids. If they needed to discuss something they did it behind closed doors. Dawn was old enough to feel the tension growing between her sister and William, but she hadn't spoken of it to Buffy yet. Will on the other hand was still childishly oblivious to the whole situation, especially now that it was Christmas time.

He was still a kid, naïve, in his own little world. His dad was his hero and his mom, well, she was the best mom. Will didn't know any better than to think these things of his parents, because that's what children do, they see the best in their parents and think the world of them. With Christmas here he was just excited about spending it with his dad for the first time. It never really crossed Will's mind that he was different from other kids because his dad wasn't there when he was younger or that his dad was a musician. That was just the way it was for him.

When the day came to a close they'd all had dinner together and spent some time watching a Christmas movie on TV; there were plenty to choose from at that time of the year. After the movie Dawn went to her room to get ready for bed and read before going to sleep while Buffy and William put Will to bed. Tomorrow was Christmas Eve and while they hadn't talked much about their plans, they wanted to spend the holiday together doing fun family stuff. This Christmas it was just them. Giles was spending the holiday in Sunnydale with Jenny and the rest of the band members were spending the holiday with their families.

After Will was in bed, kissed, and read to Buffy and William were alone in their room again. William cautiously broached the subject of his plans, not wanting to upset Buffy. "Buffy, I called Oz," he began and he saw her eyes meet his with interest and a hint of worry. "I told him that we'd wait until February to do the tour of the southwest, so you and I have some time to work on 'us'," he said.

Looking at him for a moment she began to hope that they could work on things while he was home. She sat down on their bed and patted the spot beside her, watching him follow her gesture and sit in the spot. "William, I love you. You know that. I know this life isn't going to be easy for us, being away from each other. We just… need to work at this," she said, gesturing between them. "I don't want 'us' to fall apart like my parents' relationship did. My dad was away so much that he started having affairs with other women. His excuse was that my mom didn't hold his interest and that was bull. She was at home, taking care of Dawnie and me. I just don't want that to happen to us. Ok? I want us to work at this and stay together."

"Buffy, I'm not going anywhere. Yes, I have to travel and be away from you, but it kills me every time I walk out that door and every second I'm away from you _physically_ hurts me. Don't for a second think that just because I'm not here with you in the physical sense that I'm not thinking of you. You're all I think about. You're my muse, my love, my world."

She smiled and he leaned in to kiss her softly on the lips, making no move to deepen it. "Ok, honey, let's get changed and get to bed. The next couple days are going to be big," she said with another smile.


End file.
